


heaven help a fool (who falls in love)

by capsize (copenhagenborn)



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Developing Relationship, Idiots AND lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Not Hockey Players (Hockey RPF), Self-created angst, fast burn, idiots to lovers, travis is still a hockey player
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:57:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/copenhagenborn/pseuds/capsize
Summary: “Almost thought you weren’t interested.” It’s dry and unserious, deadpan in the way almost everything Patty says is as he stares up at him. But there’s truth to it too, just the shyest glint of something in Patty’s eyes that makes his breath catch.Travis laughs and when he can’t hold himself back anymore, he leans down and captures Patty’s mouth with his. Patty sighs into the kiss and moves up so the angle is better for his neck, hand holding Travis’ cheek in his, and Travis can help but smile as he pulls back.“Could’ve just asked, dumbass.” Travis says breathless and happy, stealing another kiss before Patty moves back down again.“And let you think I actually liked you?” Patty says, rolling his eyes.“Yeah, better keep me waiting on that one, eh?”
Relationships: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Comments: 25
Kudos: 331





	heaven help a fool (who falls in love)

**Author's Note:**

> as always, if you know anyone in the tags, please stop reading now, thanks!

Travis is considering if it’s worth putting down an extra ten bucks for a better brand of vodka when the guy at the register starts making noise about carrying in the sign and dusting off the small patch of flooring that isn’t covered entirely by sand.

Now, Travis might not have worked a day in customer service his entire life, but he can take a hint when it’s being shoved in his face. So he picks up the shittier vodka and makes his way to the front with a sheepish smile. They’re only using it for mixers anyway, and if Kevin wanted something fancier, he could have bought his own.

“Hey man, sorry about the late drop-in.” Travis says, “We ran out of beer.”

“Sure, Wednesday night ragers are always the wild ones,” The guy says dryly and doesn’t seem very impressed when Travis looks up to meet his eyes.

He’s hot, is the first thing Travis notices, long hair held back with a pastel looking hair tie with his arms crossed over his chest. He’s also tall, towering over Travis even as he’s awkwardly hunched over the cash register. He doesn’t look like most of the people Travis has met here, his skin is still light and pink and only slightly burnt where his t-shirt had ended, and other than the sliders on his socked feet, all his clothes would be right at home back in Philly.

“That’ll be twelve dollars, thanks.” He continues in the same monotonous voice and stuffs the flask into a paper bag.

“Oh, for sure.” Travis nods and whips out his wallet.

None of the bills are right though. He doesn’t usually use cash so all he has is a few hundreds and whatever crumbled up dollar bills he had won from Sanny on their way here. “Oh man, I think Imma have to take it on the card instead.” He already feels like a dick making him stay late, he doesn’t want to get the guy to give him back 78 dollars in change.

Hot register guy rolls his eyes, staring painfully at the ceiling that’s probably seen better days if Travis is being honest. “It’s twelve dollars either way, bud. Doesn’t change anything for me.” He tucks a piece of hair escaped from his pony behind his ear and gestures to the card reader, which is right next to the sign saying –

“Shit, I don’t have any ID.”

Everything with value had been locked away so they wouldn’t lose it in the sand. Nobody had looked at them twice when Kevin had tagged along looking ancient, so Travis had just kind of forgotten about America’s strict alcohol laws.

“I swear I’m legal.” Travis says and tries to smile reassuringly, “Shit, I’m so sorry. I’m like, at least 22. And I’m Canadian, so I’m way past the drinking age.”

Hot guy squints again, and Travis is starting to think his face is just stuck looking like that, wonderfully sceptic.

He’s about to tell him to just google him, the humiliation already brewing inside, when the guy shakes his head and pushes the vodka closer to him. “Just take it dude.”

He doesn’t even give Travis a once over to make sure he at least looks over 21, just waves him along with the receipt that he didn’t ask for. “Have fun at your party.”

“Yeah, you too bud.” Travis says, turning around to leave when – “I mean uh, have a nice night?”

Hot guy lifts an eyebrow, and at least they both know he fucked up. “Thanks.”

. . .

It honestly only takes a second or two to recognise the guy when Travis sees him again.

He’s just reached the front of the line to the juice stand when the girl managing the register takes one look at him and says, “I’m going to take my fifteen. You’re it, Patty.” She whips off her hat and strides out of the stand without looking back.

Patty comes out from the back with a bland smile on his lips, company hat on his head and looking past Travis as he says, “Hey, what can I get you.” with barely any inflection.

“Hey! You’re the guy from the corner store, right?” Travis asks instead of giving him his order. The guy looks confused, but Travis is pretty sure it’s the same guy – even in the bright sunlight of midday, he still looks like he’s dying to go home. “I didn’t know you worked here, haven’t seen you around before.”

Travis’s only been here a couple of days, but the community is small, and Travis is a people person.

Patty blinks, “The club sandwich is ten percent off and still works with the juice combo.”

Travis frowns, but that does sound like quite the deal. He also realises that this might not be the best time to catch up, with Patty on the clock and everything.

So he puts in his order and makes sure to tip well, not sure if stand workers fall under under-payed waitstaff. “We’re having a bonfire later if you wanna come by. It’s just a couple of beers and some music, but it should be good. BYOB, but there should be enough if you forget.”

Patty stares at him for another beat, and then the smallest hint of a smile breaks out – just a slight tugging at one end of his mouth. But it’s enough for Travis who lets out a loud laugh and gathers up his food, turning around with one last look over his shoulder. “See you later, Pats.”

. . .

Once Travis can put a name to the face, he can’t stop seeing Patty everywhere.

He’s on the way back from the gym when he spots a familiar silhouette coming up around one of the corners.

“Pats, hey man!” Travis yells and jogs over to his side. “I didn’t know lived in this part of town”

Patty glances down at him and seems to decide that he has no choice but to engage him, pulling off his headphones and tugging at the leash around his wrist.

“Oh, you have a dog? That’s great, my guy. “

Travis bends down and offers his hand to the pretty girl sitting by his feet. She’s obviously on the older side but she seems to be in great shape, sitting nicely at Patty’s feet. She’s also the ugliest looking, healthy dog Travis has ever seen. She’s a mutt, that’s for sure, but there’s something about her features that doesn’t quite seem to mesh very well, ears too floppy for the muscular body of hers and the stubby tail that just keeps wagging away.

“Lemon.”

“What?” Travis says and beams when the dog gets to her feet to sniff his hand, allowing him to run his fingers through her soft fur.

“The dog,” Patty says patiently and bends down so he’s on level with Travis, “Her name is Lemon.”

“Oh, that’s sick, bud.” Travis scratches behind her ears and coos when she lets out a soft woof. She may not be a looker, but she’s still a damn good dog in Travis’ books. “She’s great, man. Does she go on the beach with you? Swim in the sea and feel the wind in those floppy ears? I bet you do, sweetie.” The ears do flop crazily, long and soft between Travis’ fingers.

Patty shrugs. “She doesn’t like the sand. But there’s a few spots I take her to when I have the time.”

“Yeah, that sounds right.”

They both get to their feet. It’s getting dark out, even here where the day is almost eternal. Travis doesn’t really have a curfew when it’s the off-season, but Patty seems to be tripping to get home, so.

“You know, you should invite me up for a beer.” Travis says softly, adjusting the bag over his shoulder. “Or I can bring the drinks, just let me know.”

“Why?”

“Dunno, some people like the company of others.” Travis says with a shrug. “I mean obviously they don’t have a dog as great as yours, but.”

Patty keeps staring, so Travis just sighs.

“Only if you want to though.” He adds with a smile, tapping Patty’s shoulder before he turns around to make his way back to the house. “I just thought it would be cool, but you know. Let me know, eh?”

It only takes two more choice run-ins before Travis is invited up for that drink.

“So what are you studying?”

Travis doesn’t know exactly what it is Patty does around here, but he’s seen the books lying around the place, the thick textbook propping up a cactus in the window and the flashcards scattered across the small flip-up dining table they’ve yet to use.

Patty’s also mentioned his home in Winnipeg, that he’s just here for the summer holiday before he’s returning to school in the fall.

“I haven’t actually declared yet.” Patty says and lets out a puff of smoke before handing over the blunt. “Something like kinesiology or biology, that kind of shit. I’m working toward getting into PT school, so.”

Travis isn’t sure he could pronounce kinesiology if Patty asked him to, so.

But Patty’s hands are warm and clammy when he gives him the blunt, and Travis doesn’t really care about anything but that, letting his fingers linger just a second or two too long. And then Patty doesn’t pull his hand away, doesn’t move before Travis has to take another hit.

“Which is kinda why I’m here,” He continues with a rare smile. “Andy lets me help out with clients and stuff if I help out in the juice stand, work the reception desk that kind of thing. Also, they own a couple of apartments around here, so board is included, and they let me bring Lemon with me.”

“Sounds like a pretty sweet deal you got there, Pats.”

Travis knows Patty’s actual name is Nolan now, doesn’t know why people keep calling him Patty. But he likes Patty better, likes the way it tastes on his tongue right before he says it. And Patty doesn’t seem like a Nolan, he might seem like a Nols, but Patty suits him so much better than the stuffy shit his parents stuck him with.

“Yeah well, we can’t all have rich friends with beach houses falling out of their asses.”

Travis shrugs. They actually did rent it from a friend of a friend that Kevin knew from New York, so no one actually owns anything if things go to shit and the property is damaged, but Travis gets the point.

“College though, must be a pretty smart guy then.”

Patty snorts, “Sure, if that’s your measure of intelligence, I’m real smart.”

“Jeez, don’t take the compliment then.” Travis says and stretches his arms up over his head making his shoulders pop with a groan. “Usually people like being called smart, get off my back, my dude.”

“People, eh?”

Travis looks over at Patty, at his bare chest and subconscious flex of his pecs when he catches Travis staring, the heat of his cheeks that make Travis’ hands twitch because he’s dying to see if they’re as warm as they look, the strands of hair framing his face making him look incredibly pretty in the dimming light of the sun.

Instead of saying anything stupid, Travis just shrugs. “Sure, love the person and all that.”

His voice is hoarse, and maybe Patty can hear it, because he watches him for a second, eyes sharp and wondering before he shakes his head with a smile. “Good for you, Teeks.”

He takes the final hit of the blunt and puts it out in the ashtray before he lies down on the floor, pulling Travis down until they’re both just starring at the ceiling.

But Patty’s hand is still in his, warm and big, so Travis just holds on and closes his eyes.

. . .

The first time they kiss is after a day spent at the beach.

Travis is feeling warm and maybe just a bit dehydrated when he leans over the couch and kisses Patty on the mouth.

Patty lets out a soft huff of a breath but returns the kiss anyway. It’s sweet and just a bit dry because of the time they’ve spent in the sun. Travis tries to keep it gentle, kissing him softly and reaching out with a hand to cup Patty’s head. But instead of the soft strands of dark hair, he gets one of Patty’s hands in his own, guiding it back to the couch.

“No, not my neck.” He pants with a wince, “Just, keep kissing me, yeah?”

And Travis doesn’t protest, because kissing Patty is better than most things he’s done lately, hands boxing in Patty’s thighs as he leans in to kiss him again, “Yeah, Patty. I can do that.”

The first time they have sex is just a couple of hours later.

When Patty’s been slathered in aloe vera to soothe his sunburnt skin, riding Travis into the bed with cautious rolls of his hips to keep the contact with his aching skin minimal.

“Fuck bud,” Travis pants, watching with a grin as Patty rolls to the other side of the bed, leaving him with the sticky, aloe vera soaked wet spot. “Do you need another round, you think?”

Patty whips his head around, only wincing slightly when the stretched skin catches up with him. “What. Your dick’s magic now?”

“Jeez, Pats.” Travis rolls his eyes and sits up in bed to watch him jump around on one leg. His skin still looks bad, red and tight around the joints and Travis wants nothing more than to pull him back into bed and not let him leave until he knows about proper sun safety. “Another round of aloe, looks like you left most of it in bed.”

“Fuck!” Patty yells when he tries to put on his underwear. “What I need is to not have burns over ninety percent of my body.”

“Well, I did ask if you wanted me to do you with the sunscreen –“

“Shut up.” Patty groans and stomps into the bathroom. “Don’t bother changing the sheets, everything’s going to be sticky the next fucking week at this rate.”

Travis wasn’t going to change the sheets, but now that Patty’s mentioned it, it might actually be a good idea. The bed really is soaked – sweat, sunscreen, come, Patty’s knock-off brand of aloe vera that was probably left over from the previous tenant; everything that’s touched their skin today now rubbed off on the linen – and the couch out front isn’t going to be much better with Patty’s sticky body.

Travis taps the door to the bathroom, “Hey uh, you wanna come sleep at my place? My bed isn’t going to be much better than yours, but the couch is leather so you might not soak it up overnight. And like, shit for your head when the sunstroke really kicks in.”

The shower is turned on and Travis is already turning around in search of his pants. But then the door is cracked open and Patty is sticking out his head. His hair is piled on top of his head in a messy bun held together by one of the scrunchies Travis had picked up from a store outside of town, and he’s still glistening of something, but the frown is minimal and there’s a soft look on his face that makes Travis’ knees weak.

“Can we uh,” He clears his throat, and Travis already wants to say yes to whatever he’s asking. “Are we bringing Lemon? She’s shit at being alone, and I don’t wanna leave her in a place she’s not familiar with.”

Travis grins and suddenly he can’t help but lean in and kiss him, touching his hand softly because at least that doesn’t seem to hurt as much. “Of course, Pats. Go have a shower, I’ll pack a bag for you and then we’ll get going, yeah?”

Patty looks like he wants to protest, but something must change his mind because he retreats into the bathroom with a quick squeeze of his hand.

Next morning, Travis comes downstairs to Kevin sitting on the floor and feeding Lemon pieces of fruit.

“Where did you find the dog?” Kevin asks but doesn’t seem very surprised by her appearance in their house. It probably helps that Lemon is being absolutely wonderful, sitting between his legs and wagging her tail whenever the food comes near her mouth.

“Um,” Travis asks distractedly as he walks into the living room to find the couch cleared and only Patty’s makeshift towel-blanket left behind. Travis doesn’t have a couch in his room, which he hadn’t realised until Patty had already set up camp a floor below him. So after another round of thorough aloe vera rub-down and tentative orgasms, Travis had reluctantly made his way to his room alone. “She’s a. Well, a friend actually.”

There’s no sign of Patty other than his dog – now splayed across Kevin’s massive thighs as he sits by the breakfast bar – and Travis only have like, ten texts from him in total because Patty absolutely hates using his phone when he doesn’t need to, and none of them are from this morning. But Travis also can’t imagine him leaving without letting him know where he went, or at least what he wanted him to do with Lemon. 

“Hey, I’m not judging.”

“Fuck, nah she’s.” Travis stops in his track, deciding he’ll deal with Patty’s sudden talent of disappearance when his stomach is full. “A friend stayed over last night and didn’t want to leave her at home. Hence the dog.”

Kevin seems to take that as is and goes back to his plate of over-fried eggs and turkey bacon just as Carter comes back from his run, weaving his way through the kitchen to get to the fridge.

“Hey,” He says with a smile and jumps up on one of the tabletops. Travis returns the smile and subtly makes his way to the stove at the other end of the kitchen, because like.

Carter gives it his all on a workout, which you know, is probably how he made it as a goalie in the NHL before he turned twenty-one, but he also fucking reeks when he’s done. “Nolan said he would come by after work. He wanted to stay but they got an emergency client or something, so he had to leave.”

“Who?”

To be fair, Travis isn’t really paying as much attention as he should because apparently Patty forgot to refill Lemon’s water bowl before he left, so he’s trying to get that done while tending to his food.

“Nolan? About this tall and very angry looking,” Carter says. He looks a bit insecure when Travis up at him, hand held out around his own head and the other grabbing a bunch of his hair in a makeshift bun. “His skin, not like, expression-wise. Shit, Trav. Do you really not know the guy? Did we get –“

“No, that’s. I know who you’re talking about. He’s just, you should call him Patty.”

Carter frowns, his head tilted back like he’s trying to remember the way Patty had introduced himself, so Travis bumps his legs because that shit doesn’t fly here. “Obviously his name is Nolan, but like. He likes Patty better, so.”

“I don’t know, did you ask?”

“Fucking hell! Get off my back, he’s my friend.” Travis says and flips his food onto his plate so he can join Kevin by the bar. “Get your own if you wanna call someone stupid names.”

“It’s literally his –“

Travis chews over him, open-mouthed and loud enough to make even Kevin cringe away, and then, “Did anyone of you let the dog out by any chance?”

. . .

On one of Patty’s rare days off, they drive a couple hours outside of town to go to one of the spots he usually takes Lemon.

His skin has healed over nicely to something between a tan and off-white, and he doesn’t whine about sitting down for long periods anymore. Travis had offered to drive, but Patty’s apparently shit with giving directions, or at least that’s what Travis assumes when Patty just mumbles something underneath his breath and slides into the driver’s seat.

Neither of them has their own car here, but Kevin had offered to let them borrow his obnoxious rental that barely has room for the four of them despite being advertised as an easy, spacious five-seater. But it’s enough space for the two of them and a dog in the back. So Travis hangs out in the passenger seat and scrolls through his music to find a country song that doesn’t make Patty scoff, occasionally sticking his hand back to make sure Lemon’s doing okay.

Patty’s spot turns out to be a small stoney beach tucked away between large rocks and a hollowed-out cliffside where Patty puts down their stuff. The sun isn’t on its highest, and with the surroundings keeping the beach almost covered, Patty looks ready to strip down and follow Lemon in the water.

“Yo, sit your ass down.” Travis shouts after him and only barely gets a hold of his shorts to tug him down, “I’m not listening to you complaining about getting burned again, and you said yourself the couch was shitty for your neck.”

Patty obviously doesn’t agree but he does sit down on one of the towels Travis had put down. “’snot like it gonna matter when I’m in the water anyways.”

“Good thing I got you the water-proof shit, then.”

“You know, you never actually gave me the address to your house.” Patty says when Lemon has run herself tired, breathing heavily as she lies by their feet. His hair is still wet, dripping cold water where he’s resting on Travis’ chest, and neither of them brought a pair of spare shorts, so they have to wait until they’re dry enough to brush off the sand before getting into the car.

“You know where we’re staying,” Travis says with a frown. Because Patty’s been by the house plenty of times by now, riling Kevin up about his wrong opinions on New York sports teams. Or just hanging out in Travis’ bed until being close to him and not touching him becomes unbearable, Travis sliding off his shorts and crawling under the covers.

Patty hums and flips around so it’s his chin that’s resting on Travis’ sternum, his hand keeping it from pressing down on the bone. But Travis likes when they’re lying like this, likes having Patty close and knowing that he can’t stop touching him either.

“You asked me to come to your house party that one time.” Patty says calmly with his free hand splayed across Travis’ neck, long fingers tracing over his collarbones and making Travis shiver. “And then you didn’t give me the address.”

Travis has invited him to a lot of parties. Skipped out on a lot of them too when Patty didn’t feel up to leaving his house or took too long to put on pants.

“Almost thought you weren’t interested.” It’s dry and unserious, deadpan in the way almost everything Patty says is as he stares up at him. But there’s truth to it too, just the shyest glint of something in Patty’s eyes that makes his breath catch.

Travis laughs and when he can’t hold himself back anymore, he leans down and captures Patty’s mouth with his. Patty sighs into the kiss and moves up so the angle is better for his neck, hand holding Travis’ cheek in his, and Travis can help but smile as he pulls back.

“Could’ve just asked, dumbass.” Travis says breathless and happy, stealing another kiss before Patty moves back down again.

“And let you think I actually liked you?” Patty says, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, better keep me waiting on that one, eh?”

. . .

Some of the guys are flying in for a week or two, so Travis goes to Patty’s to make sure he isn’t working the entire week. He wants Patty to meet the team – wants him to like them – and let him know what he actually does during the year other than bumming it on Kevin’s couch.

It doesn’t occur to him that he probably should have called ahead until he’s already standing in front of the door. But then, Patty never did seem to mind his neediness too much.

“Oh, hey bud.” Patty’s holding his computer when he opens the door, eyes flickering up to meet Travis’ quickly before going back to whatever’s on the screen. “I’m just having a look at the PT applications.”

He’s wearing one of his college shirts again, stretched out and worn across his collarbones with the bold letters of Brandon taking up his chest. His hair is back in a bun, high up on his head and held together by another ridiculous scrunchie, and Travis would probably kiss him if it wasn’t for the sudden tightness in his stomach.

“ – still need to do my course requests for next semester, and the dorm office is trying to push me out, so I have to deal with that too.” He turns around and stalks off to the couch, the door hanging open like Patty just assumes Travis is there to stay.

He is, but like. He would have appreciated the invitation.

It doesn’t change anything really, because Travis is already halfway through the apartment, door shut behind him and shoes haphazardly thrown off by the door. Lemon is hanging out on the window seat again, so there’s plenty of room for Travis to curl up next to Patty, looking over his shoulder as he flicks through one boring form after the other.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Patty asks distractedly and enters another too long course number with a name that Travis’s sure is at least a bit dirty.

“Oh, you know, the ushe.” Travis says faintly, like he isn’t having a whole entire crisis over in his corner of the couch. He rests his head on Patty’s shoulder and anchors himself to his chest by wrapping his arms around him, trying to let the steady beat of Patty’s heart guide him back towards normalcy. “Just wanted to see you, Pats.”

“You’re being weird.” Patty says underneath his breath, but he leans forward anyway so Travis can sit more comfortably behind him. “But like, I don’t really care right now.” It’s a lie, because Travis seen Patty not caring, has seen him look someone in the eye and just, visibly not care about what’s coming out of their mouth. But Travis can let him have this one.

“’s cool, I can be quiet.”

It’s not that Travis didn’t know that Patty is a college student who has to do these kinds of stuff before school starts back up in September. But maybe Travis just forgot that he isn’t going to be there when the summer is over.

That Patty won’t have to take time out of his busy college boy schedule filled with classes and homework to come to one of his games, wearing Travis’ jersey and letting Travis take it off him when they go back home. Because Patty will be back in fucking Winnipeg, working towards his degree and probably cheering for the Jets to make another failed playoff run; Philadelphia not even a fucking blip on his mind.

. . .

Travis isn’t actively ignoring Patty.

He’s just trying to be reasonable and cut down the amount of time they spend together, so at the end of the summer it won’t seem too bad going back to Philly while Patty’s braving the cold winters of Winnipeg. But when you’ve been spending most of the day with the same person, sleeping in the same bed and waking up in the morning together, everything less than that seems like a very dramatic change.

Patty’s not really a text starter so save for a few texts that Travis can’t not send, it turns to almost radio silence between the two of them. He gets the occasional picture of Lemon with some stupid caption written across it that Travis has to convince himself isn’t Patty’s veiled attempts at telling him he misses him.

Because Patty’s never been shy about what he wants, and he probably isn’t going to start now just because it’s Travis he might want.

. . .

“Whatcha doing over here, Teeks?” Kevin asks, sipping on his shitty beer as he tries to balance his over-filled spear of fruit without dropping it. “Don’t think I’ve been in a room with you and Patty where you’re not touching.”

Travis shrugs but doesn’t take his eyes away from Provy and the very tall, very hot Winnipegger he’s talking to. “I didn’t even know he’d be here.” Which isn’t even a lie.

He knew the guys were flying in and that Kevin wanted to have a party when they’d settled down in whatever house they were staying in. He also knows that he wasn’t the one who invited Patty.

“Yeah, he said something about that.” Kevin says and slurps down a big chunk of the beer. “He came by the other day, said he wasn’t looking for you, but.” He shrugs, nudging Travis’ arm until he looks back at him. “I know you all think I’m just some sad sack, but unlike someone I can actually tell when people are there for my company, you know?”

Travis rolls his eyes, “It’s just easier this way, alright?”

“What way? Ignoring each other?” Kevin says with a scoff. “I mean I get your relationship is weird, but that doesn’t seem like great foreplay to me.”

“No, just.” Kevin pushes the pack of overpriced beers over to his side of the table, and Travis is too tired to stand up and get something different, so he takes one and sips it bitterly.

“I’m trying to break it off now, so it won’t hurt as bad when he goes back to Canada.”

“Nah, that’s – why?” Kevin looks at him oddly, turns to glance at Patty, and then back at Travis doing a double-take. “You’ll see him when he goes back to college though. I get the co-dependency and all, but that seems fucking dumb.”

Travis whines. “But I won’t. I’m just a stupid athlete, I don’t have the emotional intelligence to handle a long-distance relationship. Especially not with a guy like Patty.”

Travis has tried the long-distance thing once before and it didn’t work for him. It isn’t even about sex, but Travis is a physical guy and he needs to touch someone to show them that he loves them – a hand in his hair, Patty’s head on his chest, falling asleep together even if they didn’t go to bed together.

Travis knows Patty, and Travis would do a lot of shit to make Patty happy. But Travis also knows himself, and with the distance between them, it wouldn’t work. 

“For fuck’s sake. You kids have no idea of real struggle, eh?” Kevin says drily, and Travis only just manages to catch the spear of fruit before Kevin’s on his feet, hands cupped around his mouth as he yells, “Hey Patty-boy! You wanna move in with me when school starts back up?”

“Uh –“

“Jeez, Kev. Sit the fuck down.” Travis hisses underneath his breath and gives his shirt a hard tug. But Kevin has seven inches and almost fifty pounds on him, and Travis’ ‘take no shit’ attitude really only applies on the ice.

“You can even bring that thing you call a dog with you.” Kevin continues undeterred, waving in the direction of a makeshift dog-bed Travis hadn’t noticed before with Lemon lying on her paws and watching the crowd with tired eyes.

“Hey, Lemon’s cute.” Travis objects.

“Um, sure?” Patty says with a frown, taking a step away from Provy and towards the couch arrangement, eyes flickering to Travis before they’re back on Kevin. “What do you wanna do about rent, though? Because currently I’m running on a negative income over here.”

Kevin waves him off and sits back down on the couch like everything’s suddenly settled. “That’s fine. You can vacuum a couple of times a week, make me seem like a better guy in the cleaning company’s eyes. And I guess you can walk the dog.”

“You mean my dog?”

“Sure,” Kevin says with a shrug, his attention already somewhere else. “That works too.”

Patty blinks, once, twice and then he looks at Travis with sharp eyes. Travis who still isn’t entirely sure what just went down. “What, now you got nothing to say, eh? That must be a new fucking thing.”

And then he turns around and storms out of the door.

Patty doesn’t get very far, but Travis doesn’t think that was his point when he follows him into the backyard, holding the door open so Lemon can slip between his legs and run after her dad.

It doesn’t rain a lot out here, but the dew has fallen so Travis’ socks are soaked by the time he sits down beside Patty on the old swing. Neither of them says anything for a while, Travis wants to, but he isn’t sure Patty wants him to, so he doesn’t.

So instead he lets his head fall back and looks up at the stars, moving his legs closer to Patty’s until he lets out a sound of frustration. But he doesn’t say anything, and Travis can’t wait around forever with this shitty feeling in his stomach.

“Can you, I get that you’re mad that I ignored you, but.” Travis says in a rush, hands clenched on his thighs, so he doesn’t reach out to touch him. “How can you live with Kevin if you’re going back to school? I don’t, that doesn’t make any sense to me, Patty.”

Patty’s head whips up to look at him, sharp eyes studying him for painful second after second until,” Where do I go to school, Travis?” His eyes are narrowed and he’s looking at him incredulously, like he can’t quite believe the conversation they’re having.

But Travis doesn’t get it, doesn’t understand why Patty is looking at him like that. 

“Brandon, I don’t fucking know, Pats. Some town in Winnipeg, or Manitoba or some –“ “Motherfucker!” 

“Jeez, Pats. Warn a guy next.” Travis says softly because now Patty’s standing up and kicking at the ground, the dirt flying around them. “Could you just sit the fuck down and explain why that’s such a problem? Are you really so pissy that I don’t know the exact fucking town where –“

Patty laughs, loud and just a little bit mean as he looks back at Travis with sharp eyes. “I’m at Penn, Trav. You know, the university in the city where you play fucking hockey?”

“What?” He says faintly. He tries to stand up, but his feet slip on the damp ground and he’d almost taken a tumble if Patty hadn’t stepped in, hands on his hips hauling him upright.

A million thoughts go through his mind, snippets of conversations about Philly that should have made it obvious, the Flyer hat tucked away with the rest of Patty’s clothes Travis thought he had borrowed; but all of it narrows down to one thing.

“You’ll be in Philly when school starts again?”

Patty’s smile turns just a tad softer but the hands on his hips loosen, “Yeah, Travis. I’ll be around.”

Travis doesn’t want him to remove his hands or step away, so he takes a step closer and waits until Patty doesn’t look like he’s about to bolt before wrapping an arm around Patty’s waist. “So we could, you know, go out for real? I could take you on an actual date?”

Patty holds his breath, and for a second Travis’ heart lives in his throat, ready for Patty to make his entire world crumble. And then Patty exhales and lets himself fall into Travis, head resting on his and arms around Travis’ neck to hold him close.

“Yeah, I suppose I could make time for that.”


End file.
